The Sumo Scene / For the popular ex-Ozeki Asanoyama, this drop in rank was not his own fault

Now that the long summer vacation is coming to an end, we can start preparing for the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament which starts on September 8th.

It is the last tournament of the year at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. It promises to be an exciting 15 days, with tickets selling out daily.

However, I have mixed feelings when I think of a popular wrestler who will not take his place in the ring. There is an old saying that “Clouds always follow the sunshine” – that happy events often come with trouble – and that certainly applies to former ozeki Asanoyama.

At the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July, then No. 12 maegashira Asanoyama had won the first three days when disaster struck. In a loss on the fourth day to Ichiyamamoto, Asanoyama suffered a serious injury to his left knee. He was taken straight from the arena to hospital.

The diagnosis was even worse than expected. He had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, forcing him to withdraw from the remainder of the tournament and undergo reconstructive surgery in late July.

Depending on how his rehabilitation goes, it could be six months to a year before he can return to the ring.

Many may recall that in the middle of the 2021 summer tournament, then ozeki Asanoyama was caught violating the Japan Sumo Federation’s guidelines for dealing with the novel coronavirus. He was given a heavy suspension for six tournaments.

His rank was not protected during the suspension, which caused him to drop all the way to the third lowest sandanme division. Physically he was the same wrestler and he quickly worked his way back up the ranks. His mantra recently was, “I want to return to ozeki one more time.”

He had been back in the top makuuchi division for a number of tournaments and was working on his charge to ozeki when the injury occurred in Nagoya. It can only be regarded as unfortunate.

He will be officially listed in the judges division for the fall tournament. An extended absence during his rehab could see him drop back to Sandanme, depending on how long he is out of action.

There was little sympathy for Asanoyama when he was punished for violating COVID-19 policies due to his own lack of self-control. This time, however, many fans feel his pain.

“I want him to fully recover and make a comeback,” said stable master Takasago (former sekiwake Asa-sekiryu).

Asanoyama is hugely popular, especially in his native Toyama Prefecture, but he turned 30 this year and it will take extraordinary mental strength to return to the heights he once reached.

I hope he somehow finds a way to overcome this ordeal.

— Kamimura is a sumo expert.